Books › Violins, old & new, 1887 › scan 22
Scan 22
Violins, old & new, 1887
2 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 18. See the scan on archive.org.
1the violin, as well as a very able player on that instrument, but also a well-informed man on musical topics in general. Mr. Day has given the close study of many years to the making of violins. Admiring the tone as well as the perfect form of the best Cremonese instruments, he asked himself long ago whether it was altogether impossible to equal them, and concluded that with properly selected wood and due care, guided by scientific enthusiasm, violins might be made which should be as fine in all respects as those of Stradivarius and Guarnerius. The immense amount of labour and perseverance needed to bring his efforts to a successful issue none but a genuine enthusiast can understand; but that Mr. Day has achieved his aim appears to us to be beyond all question. We have before us, as we write, a magnificent violin made by him—a copy of a "Joseph"—and we do not hesitate to say that, if the question had not been solved elsewhere, this one violin would be sufficient to prove that the "secret" has not been lost for ever, or rather that there is no secret at all about the Cremona violins which patience, knowledge, care, perseverance, and what we have called "scientific enthusiasm," cannot unravel. The tone of this violin is as full, round, mellow, and pure as that of any Cremona it has yet been our good fortune to hear, though we have heard many; and we think it is only justice to make known the fact that Mr. Day, without any hope of pecuniary reward, without any intention or idea of selling his
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.